AKIPRESS.COM - Indian Prime Minister Modi to take part in Golden Jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh Independence Day Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bangladesh capital Dhaka on March 26 to attend celebrations of the golden jubilee of the country's independence and the birth centenary of its founder ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Mint reported.

India and Bangladesh have excellent bilateral relations on all spheres and are likely to sign three MoUs during Prime Minister Modi's visit.

"It’s a historic event for Bangladesh as five heads of state and government never (without any summit) visited Dhaka within a time span of 10 days," Foreign Minister of Bangadesh AK Abdul Momen told a media briefing ahead of the 10-day celebrations starting on March 17.

Prime Minister Modi and Heads of State and Government from Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka will be among the distinguished foreign guests to join the celebrations under separate schedules.

"This is a very unusual time (due to COVID-19)… but Heads of State and Government of our neighboring countries are coming here to show their tribute to Father of our Nation," Momen said.

During his trip, Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and visit three places outside Dhaka.

The two sides are expected to sign three MoUs, Momen said.

Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen said the MoUs were likely to be signed in the field of disaster management and cooperation between some institutions of both the countries.

According to the schedule, all the foreign leaders would visit the National Memorial in Savar to pay homage to the independence martyrs, Bangabandhu Museum to pay tribute to Bangladesh’s founding father, watch special military parades and join State banquets.

Prime Minister Modi is also set to visit Bangabandhu shrine at his village home in Tungipara and two Hindu temples outside Dhaka - one in Gopalganj and the other in southwestern Satkhira.

Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was the first top foreign dignitary to arrive in Dhaka on a three-day visit on March 17.

He will be followed by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is scheduled to arrive on a two-day tour on March 19.

Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari will be in Dhaka on a two-day tour from March 22 while Bhutan’s premier Lotay Tshering will visit Dhaka from March 24 to 25.

Prime Minister Modi will arrive Dhaka on March 26 and return home the next day.

Momen said congratulatory messages have been received from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihida Suga and Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau and some high-level leaders of different countries and international organizations.